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katehope24's review against another edition
4.0
It took me some time to warm up to this book, but by the end I adored it. This book is quite the tale of so many different stories all connecting to one person, Leila. The ending was absolutely perfect, and the stories in this book were eye opening and moving. Overall this book was a great read, albeit slow at some points and hard to get into. I’ll definitely look into this authors other books!
cupcakegirly's review against another edition
4.0
I've been fortunate enough to have had several copies of this book land in my hands over the past few months, and each one has been "pushed" onto someone else, usually with the tagline, "This is the most unique road trip book I've read to date. Read it. You'll like it. I promise."
What makes Let's Get Lost unique, is how readers get to watch Leila's story unfold through the eyes of the four teenagers she meets as she travels her way across the country. She never stays for long, but she always leaves a piece of herself when she goes. The thing I liked BEST about this story is how it shows that all of us have an impact on the lives of the people we come in contact with, however brief.
What makes Let's Get Lost unique, is how readers get to watch Leila's story unfold through the eyes of the four teenagers she meets as she travels her way across the country. She never stays for long, but she always leaves a piece of herself when she goes. The thing I liked BEST about this story is how it shows that all of us have an impact on the lives of the people we come in contact with, however brief.
amberrae00's review against another edition
4.0
*Novel provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Opening Thoughts
I went into this book with very high expectations. It appears to have everything that I could want in a contemporary. It's a road trip book, and who doesn't love road trip books? There appears to be minimal romance, which is refreshing, since I haven't read a contemporary like that in a while, and it's been getting a lot of buzz in the past few months, especially since they were giving out ARC's of this book at BEA, or Book Expo America, for anyone that didn't know. So when I got approved for this book a week or so ago, I was super pumped. This book more like a series of five short stories that are all interconnected.
Characters and Plot
I can't really think of a good way to separate my reviews of the characters and the plot, so I'm just going to change it up a little bit and combine them!
The common denominator in this book, the one that connects these five individual stories together, is Leila. Leila is driving her car from Louisiana, all the way up into Canada, to see the Northern Lights. On her journey there, she encounters four different people, Hudson, Bree, Elliot, and Sonia, and with each person, they go on sort of adventure together, for lack of a better word. However, Leila reveals very little information about herself to these people that she encounters, perhaps to maintain a mysterious aura, but perhaps for a deeper reason. As this book is told in the third person, you don't know anything about Leila's back story until the very end, when we focus on her. Leila is a great character, I felt, if slightly underdeveloped. She's kind to perfect strangers, and she's always willing to do something adventurous, no matter how weird or stupid it is.
"People hurt each other," Leila said without much inflection in her voice. "It happens to everyone. Intentionally, unintentionally, regretfully, or not. It's part of what we do as people. The beauty is that we have the ability to heal and forgive."
Hudson is a teenage mechanic, and the first person that Leila encounters on her trip. Leila brings her car into Hudson's dad's shop where Hudson works, and after he works on her car, Hudson offers to show Leila around his small Mississippi town, despite the fact that he has a super important college interview the next morning.
Bree is a teenage runaway, after both her parents died in a car accident, and she's forced to live with her older sister, who Bree feels doesn't care that she lost her parents, and instead, is glad that they died. Leila picks up Bree while she's hitchhiking, and they do a bunch of crazy, illegal things that had the adult in me shaking her head, but the teenager in me cheering them on.
Elliot has just told his best friend that he's in love with her at their senior prom, only for her to turn him down and run away from him. A heart-broken Elliot buys a bottle of bourbon, gets tipsy, and walks out in front of Leila's car. She almost hits him, and in turn for that, she decides to help him get his 80's movie ending.
Sonia lost the love of her life, Sam, almost a year ago, and she's super close with his family. The only problem is, she's fallen in love with another guy (after Sam's death of course), and she feels that feeling anything towards Jeremiah is degrading her relationship with Sam. When Leila has a big fight with Jeremiah the day before his brother is marrying Sam's sister, Sonia meets Leila in a Tim Horton's, and they leave town, going from Canada into Washington, not realizing that the wedding rings are in the pocket of the pocket of Jeremiah's jacket, which Sonia just happens to be wearing. When they realize it, they immediately leave to go back into Canada, only to have the border guards deny them entrance because they think it's suspicious to go back and forth across the border in such a short time span. Leila and Sonia embark on a hilarious journey in attempts to get back into Canada in time for the wedding, definitely the adventure that made me laugh the most, and was probably my favorite.
Overall, Let's Get Lost is the perfect summer read. It's light and funny, with deep and important messages woven in subtly, and beautifully. It's the kind of book that is suitable for adults and teenagers alike. The book read a bit older than a typical young adult book, but that was not at all detrimental to the story. If anything, it was positive. This book is all about how people can come into our lives for a short time and completely change them, which is a universal topic, relatable for anyone, regardless of your age. I'd recommend this to fans of John Green, particularly Paper Towns, though really any of his books.
Opening Thoughts
I went into this book with very high expectations. It appears to have everything that I could want in a contemporary. It's a road trip book, and who doesn't love road trip books? There appears to be minimal romance, which is refreshing, since I haven't read a contemporary like that in a while, and it's been getting a lot of buzz in the past few months, especially since they were giving out ARC's of this book at BEA, or Book Expo America, for anyone that didn't know. So when I got approved for this book a week or so ago, I was super pumped. This book more like a series of five short stories that are all interconnected.
Characters and Plot
I can't really think of a good way to separate my reviews of the characters and the plot, so I'm just going to change it up a little bit and combine them!
The common denominator in this book, the one that connects these five individual stories together, is Leila. Leila is driving her car from Louisiana, all the way up into Canada, to see the Northern Lights. On her journey there, she encounters four different people, Hudson, Bree, Elliot, and Sonia, and with each person, they go on sort of adventure together, for lack of a better word. However, Leila reveals very little information about herself to these people that she encounters, perhaps to maintain a mysterious aura, but perhaps for a deeper reason. As this book is told in the third person, you don't know anything about Leila's back story until the very end, when we focus on her. Leila is a great character, I felt, if slightly underdeveloped. She's kind to perfect strangers, and she's always willing to do something adventurous, no matter how weird or stupid it is.
"People hurt each other," Leila said without much inflection in her voice. "It happens to everyone. Intentionally, unintentionally, regretfully, or not. It's part of what we do as people. The beauty is that we have the ability to heal and forgive."
Hudson is a teenage mechanic, and the first person that Leila encounters on her trip. Leila brings her car into Hudson's dad's shop where Hudson works, and after he works on her car, Hudson offers to show Leila around his small Mississippi town, despite the fact that he has a super important college interview the next morning.
Bree is a teenage runaway, after both her parents died in a car accident, and she's forced to live with her older sister, who Bree feels doesn't care that she lost her parents, and instead, is glad that they died. Leila picks up Bree while she's hitchhiking, and they do a bunch of crazy, illegal things that had the adult in me shaking her head, but the teenager in me cheering them on.
Elliot has just told his best friend that he's in love with her at their senior prom, only for her to turn him down and run away from him. A heart-broken Elliot buys a bottle of bourbon, gets tipsy, and walks out in front of Leila's car. She almost hits him, and in turn for that, she decides to help him get his 80's movie ending.
Sonia lost the love of her life, Sam, almost a year ago, and she's super close with his family. The only problem is, she's fallen in love with another guy (after Sam's death of course), and she feels that feeling anything towards Jeremiah is degrading her relationship with Sam. When Leila has a big fight with Jeremiah the day before his brother is marrying Sam's sister, Sonia meets Leila in a Tim Horton's, and they leave town, going from Canada into Washington, not realizing that the wedding rings are in the pocket of the pocket of Jeremiah's jacket, which Sonia just happens to be wearing. When they realize it, they immediately leave to go back into Canada, only to have the border guards deny them entrance because they think it's suspicious to go back and forth across the border in such a short time span. Leila and Sonia embark on a hilarious journey in attempts to get back into Canada in time for the wedding, definitely the adventure that made me laugh the most, and was probably my favorite.
Overall, Let's Get Lost is the perfect summer read. It's light and funny, with deep and important messages woven in subtly, and beautifully. It's the kind of book that is suitable for adults and teenagers alike. The book read a bit older than a typical young adult book, but that was not at all detrimental to the story. If anything, it was positive. This book is all about how people can come into our lives for a short time and completely change them, which is a universal topic, relatable for anyone, regardless of your age. I'd recommend this to fans of John Green, particularly Paper Towns, though really any of his books.
sheffner07's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Cliched? Yes, but a cute, fast read, perfect for summer.
Cliched? Yes, but a cute, fast read, perfect for summer.
anne_grapefruit's review against another edition
5.0
This book is beautiful. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA books, especially John Green readers. Don't expect high quality literature though, it's more a light yet very well written holiday read: perfect for this time of year.
sally___'s review against another edition
3.0
This book began as four stars. I wouldn't say it went downhill so much as I got tired of it. I skipped the Sonia chapter, because I didn't want to read about illegally crossing the border via sky-diving.I didn't want to read a bout a preteen who had all the maturity of a six year old. I was tired of the ludicrousy of stealing someones car because you like their AC. The book was meant to sound like an adventure, but it ended up being just one unlikely and irresponsible event after another.
I liked the characters, though I don't have much to say about them. The plot was fine, though I don't have much to say about it. This was a sweet story, but I think it is better suited towards ten year olds. My younger sister liked it more than me. Anyway, if you have your heart set on this book, don't let me dissuade you. Life is all about the happiness that comes with little things.
I liked the characters, though I don't have much to say about them. The plot was fine, though I don't have much to say about it. This was a sweet story, but I think it is better suited towards ten year olds. My younger sister liked it more than me. Anyway, if you have your heart set on this book, don't let me dissuade you. Life is all about the happiness that comes with little things.
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Blood, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Dementia